The shoe still fits, so Paolo Montalban is going to wear it and reprise his role as King Charming in “Descendants: The Rise of Red,” the next installment in the Disney movie franchise.
Disney+ announced the news Wednesday in a behind-the-scenes set video capturing “a royal occasion.” ET first reported the news in an exclusive report.
Lead duo Montalban and Brandy Norwood will return to their roles of fairytale couple King Charming and Cinderella alongside Rita Ora as the Queen of Hearts who “rules over the kingdom of Wonderland with an iron fist.”
Montalban first starred as Prince Christopher in “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” (1997) alongside Norwood as Cinderella with the late Whitney Houston playing the Fairy Godmother. Other ensemble cast members included Whoopi Goldberg, Victor Barger, Natalie Desselle Reid, Bernadette Peters and Jason Alexander.
“The Rise of Red” will bring viewers back to Auradon and the Isle of Lost, where the “Descendants” franchise begins. The plot follows Chloe (Malia Baker), daughter of Cinderella and King Charming and Red (Kylie Cantrall), daughter of the Queen of Hearts as they join forces to prevent her mother from throwing a coup against Auradon.
Returning characters include Ursula’s daughter Uma (China Anne McClain), Uma’s younger sister Uliana (Dara Reneé), Bridget the younger version of the Queen of Hearts (Ruby Rose Turner), younger Cinderella Ella (Morgan Dudley), Hook (Joshua Colley), Fairy Godmother (Melanie Paxson), Principal Merlin (Jeremy Swift) and Maddox Hatter (Leonardo Nam).
Jennifer Phang (“Advantageous,” “Half-Life,” “Foundation,” “The Flight Attendant”) is the director and co-executive producer of “Descendants: The Rise of Red. The script was written by Dan Frey and Russell Sommer (“Magic: The Gathering”). Returning to the franchise is production designer Mark Hofeling (“Descendants,” “Zombies,” “High School Musical”). Suzanne Todd (“Noelle”) and Gary Marsh are executive producers and the casting directors are Alexis Frank Koczara and Christine Smith Shevchenko (“The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers”).